India Tops YouTube problem list

India tops the list of users flagging as many as 9.3 million unique videos on video streaming platform, YouTube during the October-December 2017 period for inappropriate content. Over 8.28 million videos were removed from the platform in the fourth quarter of 2017 based on automated flagging or human detection, as per YouTube’s Transparency Report. The report said a total of 9,321,943 unique videos had been flagged for inappropriate content in the said quarter, of which about 95 per cent had been by individual users and 4.8 per cent was by “individual trusted flaggers”.

While the Google-owned company did not disclose details about the number of users flagging content like pornography, incitement to violence, harassment, or hate speech, it ranked India at the top in terms of total volume. Following in the tally was the US, Brazil, Russia, Germany, the UK, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

The company noted that the flagged content remains live when it doesn’t violate its community guidelines. YouTube said these videos had been flagged for inappropriate content ranging from sexual (30.1 per cent), spam or misleading (26.4 per cent), hateful or abusive (15.6 per cent), violent or repulsive (13.5 per cent) among other reasons.

Of the 8.28 million videos removed, 6.6 million were on the basis of automated flagging, the report said. “YouTube relies on a combination of people and technology to flag inappropriate content and enforce YouTube’s Community Guidelines…Flags can come from our automated flagging systems, from members of the Trusted Flagger program (NGOs, government agencies, and individuals) or from users in the broader YouTube community,” it said.

It added that the company relies on teams from around the world to review flagged videos and remove content that violates its terms; restrict videos (age-restricted content); or leave the content live when it doesn’t violate the guidelines. The report said automated flagging enables the company to act more quickly and accurately to enforce its policies. YouTube had been able to remove about 76 per cent of the flagged videos (automated process) before it had any views.

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